Powerful spirit-allies against our spirit-enemies

Sermon for the Festival of Michael & All Angels

Revelation 12:7-12  +  Matthew 18:1-11

The Church’s commemoration of Michael and all angels on September 29^th goes back a long, long time, to the 5^th century AD. We continue to celebrate this festival, because it’s useful to have a day when we Christians can come together to hear what God teaches us about the angels and to give thanks to God for their indispensable service.

Today’s Gospel was chosen for this day long ago, because of that little phrase that Jesus adds at the end of the text about the angels. He’s sternly warning His hearers not to dare to harm or to offend or to despise a little child who believes in Him, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. Now, that verse doesn’t teach us a whole lot about the angels. But it does teach us that little children who believe in Jesus (and that also includes adults who have the same humble, simple, child-like faith in Jesus that the little children have) have angels of their own, angels assigned to them, who stand before God the Father, ready to guard and protect His dear children. There’s some incentive there, isn’t there?, first, to be very careful how you treat and even how you think of these little children, and, second, to be careful to maintain a humble, simple, child-like faith in Jesus, so that you, too, may always have the help of the guardian angels.

Let’s go back a little bit. The word “angel” means “messenger.” In the beginning, when God created all things visible and invisible, He created the invisible hosts or armies of spirit-creatures—sinless creatures, with a mind and a will, but without flesh and blood. We learn in Scripture that they worship God continually, with humility and with reverence. We also learn that these creatures were created to spend much of their existence serving the Lord God by ministering to human beings. Most of them were glad to comply, but some of them, led by a high-ranking angel who is later called Satan or the Devil, chose to rebel against the Lord God, for reasons that aren’t clearly revealed to us, although pride is mentioned as the devil’s sin. Those angels were cast out of heaven, removed from their ranks in God’s heavenly armies, and Satan was allowed to tempt our mother Eve in the Garden of Eden. And after she and Adam fell into sin, the unholy angels, whom we usually refer to as unclean spirits or demons, were given some freedom to deceive and to torment human beings on earth.

Meanwhile, the armies of holy angels kept their place in heaven and are sent by God to do many things that God simply doesn’t want us to know about. But some things He has told us. The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear the Lord, and he delivers them…The Lord shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. Or as the writer to the Hebrews writes, Are not all angels ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? They keep watch over God’s children (both young and old). They provide protection in ways that we can’t even imagine.

Now, angels appeared on and off to God’s people throughout the Old Testament times, and also in New Testament times. Some of the apocryphal books of the Old Testament tell some fantastical stories about angels, where several angels are named, but if we stick with the canonical Scriptures, we know the names of only two angels. Gabriel, whose name means “mighty one of God,” appeared to the prophet Daniel, and, later, to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and then to the virgin Mary, announcing that she would be the mother of the Son of God. And then there is Michael, after whom today’s festival is named.

Michael’s name is a question: “Who is like God?” He shows up, at least, by name, only four times in the Bible. The first time was back in the book of Daniel, chapter 10. An unnamed angel was speaking to Daniel in a vision, and he tells Daniel that he was delayed in coming by the “prince of the kingdom of Persia.” The word “prince” seems to refer to a high-ranking angelic authority, except this one was an evil one who opposed the angel sent by God. So we’d call him a high-ranking demon. But Michael came to help this angel. The angel calls Michael “one of the chief princes.” Another word for a “chief prince” would be an “archangel,” so this verse seems to indicate that there are a number of archangels, of whom Michael is one. Later in that same chapter, the angel refers to Michael as “your prince,” and in chapter 12, he’s called, “the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people.” So Michael is the archangel whom God placed in charge of protecting, either the Old Testament people of Israel in particular, or all the people of God in general. From the little we’re told by Daniel, we conclude that there are both angels and demons in charge of various regions of the world, with many angels at the command of each commander, and that there are battles going on in the spiritual realm that we cannot see.

What was the battle that John described in today’s Epistle, Revelation 12? Given the vision that comes right before, which seems to describe the devil’s failed attempt to defeat Jesus during His earthly ministry, it seems that this vision is meant to teach us about the spiritual victory that took place in Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection, including also the victory of the Gospel going out into the world to bring people to faith in Jesus. Whether or not there was an actual battle at that time in the spiritual realm between angels and demons isn’t clear, because Revelation is a prophetic vision. What is clear is that, because of Christ’s death on the cross, and because He now stands at the right hand of God as our Mediator, and because His Gospel has gone out and brought many sinners to faith, the devil, the great accuser of mankind, no longer has a case to make in heaven against those who believe in the Lord Christ. The devil has been “cast out of heaven,” in that sense.

But that means that he and his angels have been cast down to the earth, to persecute and trouble us here during this little while until Christ returns for Judgment Day. As John heard the voice in heaven say, Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time. And so it’s fitting today, as we consider the holy angels, that we take a moment to consider their unholy counterparts and the ways they threaten mankind.

There are some who think that it was demons who married human women back before the days of Noah, having hybrid children with them who were supernatural giants. But that idea is contrary to what the Scriptures tell us, because spirits can’t produce children, since they have no DNA to pass on. But we are told that demons were behind much of the idolatry that took place in the Old Testament. They were involved in sorcery and witchcraft. They took possession of people’s bodies at the time of Jesus and for a while thereafter. And even today they seem to be able to afflict individuals in strange and supernatural ways.

But, understand, their primary tool is deception, because they’re in league with the devil, who is called the father of lies. So even as they afflict people, they employ deception to mislead those whom they are afflicting. They may be behind some of the stories about apparitions or ghosts as they deceive people into thinking they’re the soul of a lost loved one. They may be behind some of the stories about aliens, and about supernatural creatures that roam the earth, always deceiving people about their true nature. They are likely also behind the supposed apparitions of Mary and of other saints, always deceiving people into looking away from Christ and obsessing over the supernatural occurrences themselves.

Aside from afflicting or appearing to individuals, the unclean spirits are secretly influencing the governments of the world, and the beliefs of society, and especially the beliefs within the Christian Church itself. St. Paul writes that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. Those doctrines of demons have thoroughly infiltrated the outward Christian Church and are taught and believed by millions. As for the societies of the world, if it seems like some of the things people are believing and promoting in the world are unthinkably insane and unspeakably wicked, you can be almost sure that demons are behind it, lying and deceiving, influencing and tempting both the leaders and their followers. But be careful, because, as masters of deception, they can also be behind some of the responses to the madness!

Thankfully, the Lord has given us plenty of armor and a powerful weapon against the unclean spirits. Paul talks about it in Ephesians 6: Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

So use that armor that God has provided. Trust in the Lord Jesus, risen from the dead, in His victory over the devil, and in His promise that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Know God’s Word, which is dependably true, so that no demon can deceive you with falsehoods. Rely on God’s promise in Holy Baptism, where He placed His almighty name upon you, which no demon can defeat. Rely on God’s promise in Holy Communion, where the very body and blood that already defeated the devil are placed into your bodies. Pray always. And, as Peter writes, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, being steadfast in the faith…Resist the devil, James says, and he will flee from you.

And remember that, in the face of all these powerful, wicked, deceptive spirit-enemies who wreak havoc on the world and on the Church, you have even more powerful allies in the spirit-realm, Michael and his angels, whom your Father in heaven will graciously continue to send to the aid of all who call upon the name of the Lord, to encamp around those who fear Him. So rejoice in them, give thanks to God for them, and take heart, because, although the world is filled with demons and their allies among the sons of men, Those who are with us are more than those who are with them, and with the help of God’s holy angels, our final victory is certain. Amen.